A consensus opinion has emerged, with emphasis on detecting the early symptoms. The trouble is, these symptoms are vague, and early diagnosis may be difficult:
Despite this, in all these years, after performing or referring for thousands of sonograms (and not a few ca125 tests) in what I believe is an optimally aggressive screening approach for ovarian cancer in symptomatic women, I have yet to diagnose a single case of early ovarian cancer. Of the 5 or so cases (it is, after all, not a common cancer), all but one presented to me at stage 3 or more. That early tumor was a borderline cancer, and she would have done well no matter what I had done.I wish I could say my aggressive management of symptoms has impacted ovarian cancer mortality. It’s certainly reassured a lot of frightened women and found quite a bit of benign disease. But ultimately, I just don’t think it has made a difference in terms of ovarian cancer outcomes.
Related posts:
- Should we start screening women for ovarian cancer?
- Screening for ovarian cancer redux
- "The great majority of women in the United States should not be getting MRI scans for breast cancer screening"
- NBC News on ovarian cancer screening
- Robert Novak on his brain tumor
- Is prostate cancer being overdiagnosed?
- Breast cancer screening: Orac’s take
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{ 3 comments }
Mention was made in the article of a relationship between UTI symptoms and presence of ovarian cancer.
Imagine the cost, if all women with UTIs, for instance, now demand a sonogram to rule out ovarian cancer.
Front page of the New York Times! That’s where they printed this excrement! It’s the same crap that occured when Gene Wilder went on TV and radio saying every woman should get a CA 125 after Gilda Radner died.
If these delusional people are upset with how limited mammograms are at finding breast cancer, then they are in for some nasty surprises about the ultrasounds, blood tests, etc inability to rule in/out ovarian CA.
The symptoms that they promote such as bloating are clearly signs of advanced disease. Is there any evidence that this campaign will do anything?
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